About the Show

Music, humor, and history help tell the story of a young Black boy afraid to leave his home.

Jabari is a Black boy from the South Side of Chicago whose fear of leaving his home is put to the test. With help from his Forever POTUS Barack Obama, Jabari narrowly escapes a violent encounter with the police. Through a series of colorful paintings, Jabari is able to meet and learn from children of the past who teach him valuable lessons about how to stand up to his fears. This production was created for young audiences and uses rap, freedom songs, hip-hop dance, history, and humor in order to tell an important story about the Black experience.

Critic Reviews (1)

"The show is geared toward kids 7 and up, but adults will find much to value in it too...Playwright Nambi E. Kelley and director Daniel Carlton don't try to frighten kids in the audience with violent imagery of protests, but they don't dumb down the material, either...Call-and-response numbers, together with Jessica Wardell's colorful set, David Lander's lively lighting, and Yu'seph Cornish's modern-day and 1960s-style costumes, get the audience feeling like a community with a common goal of fairness and justice."
Read more